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42-43 Gloucester Crescent
London
NW1 7PE
T: +44 (0)20 7267 5161
MAX FORDHAM
PROGRAMME SUPPORTERS
We are building services engineers
Increasingly, it’s an industry referred to as environmental engineering, and we’re very comfortable with that. Where once the engineer’s lot was ‘pipes and wires’, now it encompasses everything from daylighting and acoustics to building physics and sustainability. In essence, everything that impacts on the internal environment of a building and its performance.
Our approach differs from that of conventional environmental building services engineers. Each member of our team is trained in electrical and mechanical engineering, environmental design and building physics. This training takes place in-house, creating an integrated understanding that considers the whole building. We deliver buildings that work, with a focus on detail and finish, to ensure our engineering serves the architecture. It's the way Max trained his team and it's an approach that has endured.
For over 50 years we’ve been pioneers in sustainable, low energy and low carbon building design. At the heart of our partnership is a desire to tackle the climate and biodiversity emergency our world is facing. We have created the Net Zero Carbon Guide, a free and open resource, to help the industry navigate the process of achieving net zero carbon for both old and new buildings. You can read more at netzerocarbonguide.co.uk.
Core Team
Andrew Leiper
Net Zero Carbon Leader
Successful delivery of a project is roughly one third engineering, one third organisational and one third communication skills.
Collaborative working is a part of the process and one that I enjoy as initial concepts develop into the detailed design and installation of mechanical and electrical services. I design efficient integrated building services which, although more or less invisible to the eye, affect how the space feels and make buildings come alive.
If a certain amount of warmth and light is provided passively by the building, my engineering complements and enhances what's there to ensure the environment is comfortable.
Henry Pelly
Senior Sustainability Consultant
There’s something satisfying about being in a well-conditioned space, where the temperature is just right, the air is fresh, the light-level appropriate.
My background is in psychology, environmental design and architecture and I think this is a potent combination for making better buildings. Design can influence human behaviour, but the complexity and reality of human behaviour should also influence design.
I advise design teams on how they can apply sustainability concepts and methodologies to produce better buildings; buildings that work. BREEAM is one of the useful tools that can help meet this end. When approached in the right spirit as a holistic and robust standard rather than another form of compliance, it provides an excellent framework to ensure that the details that deliver better building survive to the end of the construction process.
Katie Clemence-Jackson
Senior Engineer
I like to think of services engineering as bringing a building to life. I start with an empty shell and turn it into a living, breathing place where people feel comfortable.
I create designs that go beyond their intrinsic functions, considering how each system will be installed, maintained, tested and understood by the end users.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is building relationships with design team and clients so that I can help turn their abstract ideas into an elegant design. Once I have understood their vision, motivation and goals I can design the engineering services to support and enhance this vision in a way that is implicitly understood by the end users.
David Lindsey
London Office Leader
Successful projects start by talking open-mindedly with the design team to find the most appropriate engineering solutions that answer the brief. It’s important to resist the tendency to over-complicate the design, so we don’t hinder a robust delivery and operation.
While my experience has covered all sectors, I have particular specialism in cultural buildings and the health sector. Having established the client’s clear aims, my role is to provide strong leadership and support throughout the whole engineering process; from procurement to delivery, testing then handover, right through to post occupancy support.
I’m well-placed to provide this whole project support thanks to over 25 years’ experience designing, delivering and monitoring a range of projects, working with numerous clients, project managers, architects and contractors.
Hareth Pochee
Principal Engineer
I am a Physicist as well as an engineer, with a passion for design.
This combination of skills allows me to really understand how buildings work. Sustainable and low-energy design inspires me and I have a great deal of expertise in public access, education and community buildings in particular.
I have been lead engineer for several projects with exemplar sustainable credentials including Brockholes and Rainham Visitors Centres. On both these projects my role extended far beyond a traditional engineering role. It included advice on low environmental impact materials, low carbon catering, sustainable transport, waste management and post occupancy evaluation of energy and water use.
Along with my project work, I’m also a senior member of the MAX:R+I team, a group within the Practice dedicated to research and innovation. There’s a great deal of satisfaction to be had exploring new ideas and developing creative ways to solve particular challenges. I think I have a flair for creating and delivering high performance results that are low-tech, low maintenance and really take into account the building users’ experience.
I am also a member of the Practice’s Developing Countries group that performs pro-bono work across Africa, Europe and Asia to make a difference in the lives of others.
Max Fordham House
This multi-award winning three-bedroom Passivhaus home is an exemplar of collaboration, innovation and solution focused design.
